This archive report was first published on 19 April 2020.
On April 14, 2020, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi's decision to impose a national state of emergency to combat the spread of Covid-19 was met with resistance from the country's senate.
The Constitutional Court, however, granted legal backing to the decision, effectively rejecting the senate's request for a parliamentary vote of approval.
According to the Constitutional Court, the state of emergency directive by the president does not require a law passed in parliament to comply with the Constitution.
Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga, President of the National Assembly, Jeanine Mabunda, and other government officials attended the meeting.
However, the decision has raised political tensions, with some observers arguing that the sitting of the parliament was illegal due to public gatherings being prohibited to fight Covid-19.
President of the Senate, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, had sought to have the state of emergency directive subjected to a parliamentary vote of approval, citing the prescriptions of the Constitution.
But the Constitutional Court rejected the senate's request, effectively meaning the argument by Mwamba held no water.
Reacting to the win, Tshisekedi's office called for a formal apology from the Senate leader for trying to harangue the president.
"That is the bare minimum. The logic of the President of the Senate could have triggered an institutional crisis," said Kasongo Mwema Yamba Yamba, the Presidential Spokesman.
